Tom Bradley came prepared to the 16th annual Bo Tkach Foundation Golf Tournament on Aug. 28th at Woodstone Country Club in Lehigh Township.
Just as he did in a coaching career spanning 32 seasons as an assistant at Penn State, plus a combined four seasons at West Virginia and UCLA and three seasons coaching in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bradley did his research. He had some X’s and O’s on the mental health crisis plaguing the country, particularly among young people.
Bo Tkach, an outstanding athlete at Northern Lehigh High School, took his own life in 2007. He was 25.
Bradley spent the day at the golf course and was happy to take photos, sign autographs and talk Penn State football or anything else the golfers wanted to chat about.
But Bradley reminded the golfers before the post-tournament banquet what the event and the Bo Tkach Foundation is all about — helping to increase awareness and support for those battling obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental health issues.
“I looked up a couple of statistics that I didn’t know and it kind of surprised me,” Bradley said. “The 2010s ranked as the decade of mental decline. The feeling of persistent hopelessness grew by 40% from 2009 and persistent hopelessness equals deeper struggles with depression. Two of the biggest reasons — social media and Instagram. Suicides in the age range of 10 to 24 increased by 57% since 2007. In 2021, emergency room visits for attempted suicides among teen girls increased by 51%.”
The golf tournament and accompanying live and silent auctions for sports memorabilia are fundraisers for the Bo Tkach Foundation. In 2023, the event raised close to $50,000 and Jim Tkach, the former Palmerton and Norther Lehigh football coach and founder of the foundation, said over the years the foundation donated more than $500,000 to the community for various needs.
Bradley missed the event for two years because of battles with cancer. “Scrap” as he was nicknamed, said he was happy to be back and see many familiar faces. He told attendees stories about his days at Penn State, including his thoughts on some of the local legends, including Matt Millen and Mike Guman, who played for the Nittany Lions.
Bradley does a weekly show with Jay Paterno called Nittany Game Week. It runs in syndication and can been seen at various outlets across the state. Bradley and Paterno do a lot of Xs and Os on the show and look back at the previous week’s game and ahead to the upcoming contest. It has become a must-see for any diehard Penn State football fan and Bradley has fun doing it.
“The X-and-O thing is good, but I told Jay I’m not going to be negative,” Bradley said. “We do it in York with Fox 43 sports director Todd Sadowski and we have guests on each week. Matt Millen was one. And we try to have some fun while talking a lot of football. It’s not just a Penn State show but also an educational show. We put up the offense and defense and that’s good because Jay is an offensive guy and I was always a defensive guy. We want to inform people and maybe entertain them a little bit, too.”
Bradley served as Penn State’s interim head coach for four games after the controversial firing of Joe Paterno in November of 2011. Those were some of the darkest days in school and college football history, but the upbeat Bradley would rather focus on the good stuff going on and that’s what the weekly show is as all about.
He has received good feedback on it, but added “I think it’s more for the guests we bring on. We’ve had a lot of great guests and that has helped to make it a better show.”
Recent developments such as the name, image and likeness rule, the transfer portal and conference realignments provide a totally different college football landscape than the one he found when he came out of Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown in 1974, Bradley said.
“If you look at the NIL stuff, there’s one word you never see … academics,” he said. “That’s what is disappointing to me. I understand where it’s going. I get what’s going on. I know all the different things. But let’s not kid ourselves. It’s not intercollegiate athletics anymore. It’s semi-pro athletics.”
Bradley spent years on the recruiting trail and said now it’s not about selling your school; it’s about being the highest bidder. And, as for the transfer portal, Bradley acknowledges that using it is now a necessity.
“Can you start to limit it, and maybe only allow a kid to do it once?” he said. “I don’t know what the answer is. But some of the guys, the higher-ups, need to sit together and and make some rules that can work for the future of the college football.”
Bradley also spoke about the expanded Big Ten and noted all the extensive travel that’s going to be involved with a league that stretches coast-to-coast.
“UCLA and USC are great schools, both of them,” he said. “I coached on Jim Mora’s staff out there at UCLA and I loved Jim and his dad out there. Them being in the league makes for an interesting schedule but the thing that makes me nervous is all the travel involved. You think you’re going to get on a plane and everything will go smoothly. But there could be a weather problem or some other kind of issue, and all kinds of delays. But this is where we are. This is what we’re doing because of the TV revenue.”
Despite all of the concerns, Bradley said he still loves being involving in something that been a big part of his life for more than a half-century and he’s excited for the 2024 Nittany Lions and believes they have a shot at making a long run in the new 12-team playoff format.
He said he always will love that game-day atmosphere at Penn State. He talked about that excitement as game time approaches at Beaver Stadium and the Blue Band comes on to the field in precise formation and rhythm, and as the crowd roars, the drum major sprints through the heart of the band and flips into the air as he gets to midfield.
“When he sticks that landing, it’s really awesome,” Bradley said. “College football is still flat-out awesome. There are some kinks that need to be worked out, sure, but it’s still awesome and this season should be as exciting as ever.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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